Serina's Troubles (4)

The other three men surrounded Shui after receiving Jacob's order. Although Shui had managed to swiftly subdue their captain, it looked like he only outsmarted him so they judged that he could be beaten as long as they were wary of his traps.

"Ha!"

One of them charged with a sword while the other two attacked with wind spells to keep him pinned down. Instead of the usual barrier spell, Shui summoned a wind vortex to protect him while also knocking back the disciple who chose to get in close range. This used up more energy, but there was another benefit to this method of defense.

Suddenly, the vortex expanded and a figure jumped from its center. The three men quickly attacked with spells, but by the time it was revealed that the figure was just smoke, Shui had plunged his fist into the body of the closest man. Shui put more force into pushing than striking, so the man was blasted out of sight but Shui was sure he would survive assuming that he didn't land improperly.

The remaining two realized that the situation worse than expected, so they attacked with their strongest spells.

"Tempest Spear!"

"Razor Shower!"

Even with a giant spear of sharp winds attacking from the front and thin blades of water attacking from above, Shui remained relaxed. He first pointed at the man behind the giant spear and fired a needle of super concentrated water manifested through the Five Elements Technique. The needle pierced through the wind without trouble and then bypassed the man's shoulder. With his concentration disrupted, Shui then took control of the scattered wind and used it to create another vortex barrier. Thanks to the Four Elements Technique and his own superb energy control, it was now easy for Shui to manipulate elemental forces.

With both spells over, Shui changed the nature of the vortex. It had repelled all danger while spinning clockwise, but now it attracted his enemies while spinning counterclockwise. The two men were swept into the vortex without a chance to resist and then flung out unconscious after a few seconds.

The area was silent. Even the few elders who noticed the commotion had turned speechless. However, as the one who created this atmosphere, Shui remained the same. He turned to Jacob who continued to struggle under the cold nets.

"I believe it would be in your best interests to surrender."

"Damn you! You think you can attack the Disciplinary Squad and get away with it! Once I tell my supervisor about this you are-"

"Enough!"

Suddenly, an inner section elder appeared on the scene and interrupted Jacob. However, Jacob's face lit up once he saw the elder and the gallery knew why. From the black sword on the elder's waist, it was obvious that he belonged to the Punishment Department that the Disciplinary Squad fell under. Although Shui's strength was impressive, no one thought that would matter anymore with this elder on the scene.

"Elder Rowen! Thank you for coming, you must punish that boy for-"

Jacob shared the thoughts of the crowd and believed that Elder Rowen came to rescue them. Although he might be scolded for losing, he thought there was no way Shui would be forgiven for shaming them. Unfortunately, the truth was different from his imagination, and he began to realise that from the way the elder looked at him. Elder Rowen was one of the youngest elders in the Punishment Department, but his cold stare wasn't any less effective at silencing him.

Once Jacob nervously closed his mouth, the elder turned to face Shui. With not a hint of fear on his face, Shui gave a polite greeting and a slight bow.

"What can this humble disciple do for you, Elder Rowen?"

No one in the crowd agreed with Shui calling himself humble, but the elder smiled at his composure.

'This is certainly a good seed. What a shame...'

"I heard a commotion so I came to take a look, but I believe it has ended, right young one?"

"Indeed."

Shui easily grasped the elder's intention so he released the spell trapping Jacob without much of a fuss. Once freed, Jacob regained his confidence and faced Shui from behind Elder Rowen with a smirk. Elder Rowen appeared to be upset with him, but he believed Shui would be in for worse treatment.

"Since everything has ended, then I shall take my leave. I hope to have a talk with this young friend some time in the future."

"That would be an honour."

As the elder grabbed the other three men with mental control and seemed ready to leave, everyone realized that the elder was ignoring the matter and subtly standing on Shui's side. Although no one denied his exceptional talents, they were still surprised that an elder from the Punishment Department that was known for being strict and overbearing, would be partial in this case. For Jacob, this was even more unbelievable.

"Elder! How could we let such a disrespectful disciple roam free? We must uphold the rules of the manor."

"Jacob, if I really want to uphold the rules of the manor, both you and your entire squad will have to be interrogated on suspicion of corruption and abuse of authority. Do you still wish for me to be impartial?"

"..."

With that reminder, Jacob had to swallow his grievances. Elder Rowen wasn't happy about the situation either since this would be a stain on the name of the department, but if he tried to punish Shui in these muddy waters then other elders would surely show up to drag the Punishment Department further into the dirt so that they could impress Shui. Jacob wasn't aware of all these details but he could tell that the elder wouldn't change his decision, so after a hateful look at Shui, he left with the elder.

Seeing that the situation had gone south, Rodney also left, but like Jacob, he hadn't given up yet.

"Boss, should we do something about them?"

As everything seemed settled, Fatty approached Shui and quietly asked this question so that Serina couldn't hear. Shui could understand his viewpoint as Rodney and Jacob didn't seem willing to stand down, but he shook his head.

"The only reason that elder didn't attack me is because my talents are too impressive, but because of this incident it's hard to believe that I would have any favourable feelings for his department. The Punishment Department will stay quiet for now because they don't want to be used by the other departments to gain my favour, but that doesn't mean they'll remain passive if I give them an excuse to capture us. As for Rodney, his clan seems special but at the very least he won't make a move soon because he was forced to use that ability."

Fatty stared at Shui with awe and respect in his eyes.

"Woah! You're so smart, Boss! Wait, do you know what that tattoo was?"

"What are you two talking about?"

As Fatty had raised his voice, Serina ended up catching a bit of their conversation.

"He was just asking about the boar tattoo on Rodney's chest," Shui replied.

"Oh, you know what it is?"

"That's right. It should be a bloodline art from a clan with roots in ancient spiritualism."

Ancient spiritualism referred to the art of controlling spirits which involved bonding with the spirits to the level of fusion. It was said to be very powerful as it allowed a mortal to possess the might of nature, but it also had the risk of corroding the user's mind so it gradually fell in decline. Shui had some interest in the art as well, so he looked forward to when Rodney faced them again.

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